The Watchlist.

Section 18C of Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a person to commit an act that offends, insults, humiliates or intimidates another based-on race on the internet. Why is this so controversial? Allow us to explain.

Most people are not aware of the fact that there is an entire industry of companies whose business model is based around collecting these fragmented datasets, linking them and analysing them to form a profile of an individual consumer. Known as data miners, you may never have heard of these companies – but they’ve almost certainly heard of you.

Free online services may not cost you any money to use, however, it is important to be aware that there is still a transaction taking place between you and the providing company. Rather than paying in money, you are paying with information about yourself.